ANU boss ‘should repay $1.1m salary’ while double-dipping with Intel

[XYang2023]

The person or unit (HR?) at Intel should take responsibility for this. I also believe the HR department needs to re-examine itself. Although Pat was the one who approved the massive hiring, it was the HR unit that actually implemented it. Moreover, when Intel carried out layoffs, quite a few competent employees took voluntary packages. I don’t understand how HR could have done such a poor job in this situation.

ANU boss ‘should repay $1.1m salary’ while double-dipping with Intel

Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson says questions need to be answered over how a vice chancellor could hold a second job with a foreign company.

www.afr.com

 

[XYang2023]

For reference:

Intel Architects Start RISC-V Business with AheadComputing

Former Intel architects launch AheadComputing, a RISC-V startup set to reshape semiconductor design with innovative open-source IP.

www.electropages.com

 

[blueone]

There are other examples of dual corporate and academic concurrent jobs at Intel. Two of the most visible are:

1. Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua is also a full professor of computer science at the Hebrew University at Jerusalem.

2. Barefoot Networks CEO Nick McKeown, after Intel acquired the company, was appointed to be an Intel Senior VP and Senior Fellow for the Network and Edge Group by PatG, while at the same time remained a full professor at Stanford University. McKeown was also a co-founder of Nicira Networks, which was acquired by VMware in 2012 for $1.26B at the time PatG was CEO. (I should mention that I have very high esteem for McKeown's research work in networking; he is a giant in that field. On the other hand, being SVP of an Intel product group is certainly more than a full-time job, and experience in large-scale hardware and software engineering development would seem a prerequisite for success, especially in a company as complex as Intel. Very curious indeed.)

 

[blueone]

For reference:

Intel Architects Start RISC-V Business with AheadComputing

Former Intel architects launch AheadComputing, a RISC-V startup set to reshape semiconductor design with innovative open-source IP.

www.electropages.com

I'm a bit confused. Why call-out Ahead Computing in this thread? Because some of them are former Intel CPU engineers? IMO, Ahead is not very scary to Intel compared to Ampere Computing, which is full of former Intel technical and business leaders, and has substantial backing from Oracle and Larry Ellison in particular.

Leadership and Executive Teams - Renee James | Ampere Computing®

Learn more about the Ampere Computing® Leadership and Executive Teams including Founder, Chairman and CEO Renee James

amperecomputing.com

 

[XYang2023]

There are other examples of dual corporate and academic concurrent jobs at Intel. Two of the most visible are:

1. Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua is also a full professor of computer science at the Hebrew University at Jerusalem.

2. Barefoot Networks CEO Nick McKeown, after Intel acquired the company, was appointed to be an Intel Senior VP and Senior Fellow for the Network and Edge Group by PatG, while at the same time remained a full professor at Stanford University. McKeown was also a co-founder of Nicira Networks, which was acquired by VMware in 2012 for $1.26B at the time PatG was CEO. (I should mention that I have very high esteem for McKeown's research work in networking; he is a giant in that field. On the other hand, being SVP of an Intel product group is certainly more than a full-time job, and experience in large-scale hardware and software engineering development would seem a prerequisite for success, especially in a company as complex as Intel. Very curious indeed.)

In the case of ANU, she is an administrative staff member at her level. Australian universities are under stress due to the government's efforts to limit foreign students. I am not sure how helpful this would be to Intel in this case. I suspect that if there were no layoffs at Intel and the university did not face financial difficulties, such issues might not have come to light.

I think it is acceptable if they are true researchers, as in this case:

Dieter Fox

Homepage of Dieter Fox, Professor of Computer Science & Engineering

homes.cs.washington.edu

 

[XYang2023]

I'm a bit confused. Why call-out Ahead Computing in this thread? Because some of them are former Intel CPU engineers? IMO, Ahead is not very scary to Intel compared to Ampere Computing, which is full of former Intel technical and business leaders, and has substantial backing from Oracle and Larry Ellison in particular.

Leadership and Executive Teams - Renee James | Ampere Computing®

Learn more about the Ampere Computing® Leadership and Executive Teams including Founder, Chairman and CEO Renee James

amperecomputing.com

I meant whether the layoffs could have been implemented differently. For example, instead of introducing generous company-wide early retirement and voluntary separation programs (VSP), could HR have worked harder to identify which staff to trim and which to retain based on their competence and alignment with the company’s goals?

 

[osnium]

I meant whether the layoffs could have been implemented differently. For example, instead of introducing generous company-wide early retirement and voluntary separation programs (VSP), could HR have worked harder to identify which staff to trim and which to retain based on their competence and alignment with the company’s goals?

You are thinking if the cuts would have been ISP, VSP and then ISP Part 2 or just ISP to begin with?

 

[XYang2023]

You are thinking if the cuts would have been ISP, VSP and then ISP Part 2 or just ISP to begin with?

I am not an HR person, but I believe Intel should adopt an approach similar to that of Twitter, Meta, Amazon, etc., when it comes to layoffs. In my opinion, Intel's approach is too lenient and overly generous.

 

[hist78]

I meant whether the layoffs could have been implemented differently. For example, instead of introducing generous company-wide early retirement and voluntary separation programs (VSP), could HR have worked harder to identify which staff to trim and which to retain based on their competence and alignment with the company’s goals?

The CEO is responsible to set the directions and to make the decisions at a public traded company like Intel. We don't need to blame the HR staffs if there are any negative impacts or consequences because again it is CEO's responsibility.

 

[XYang2023]

The CEO is responsible to set the directions and to make the decisions at a public traded company like Intel. We don't need to blame the HR staffs if there are any negative impacts or consequences because again it is CEO's responsibility.

I tend to agree. I believe it was PG who appointed the current HR head. He mentioned making the most difficult decisions after the August earnings call, stating that employees were part of the Intel family. I couldn’t help but think that if he truly cared about the Intel family, he could have demonstrated it by temporarily cutting executive compensation by at least half.

 

[blueone]

I meant whether the layoffs could have been implemented differently. For example, instead of introducing generous company-wide early retirement and voluntary separation programs (VSP), could HR have worked harder to identify which staff to trim and which to retain based on their competence and alignment with the company’s goals?

HR doesn't determine who's laid off in the vast majority of US companies, and certainly not in Intel in the recent past. The management hierarchy does. HR is simply performs the administrative operations. Senior management determines which projects are terminated or continue, the budget for each project, and these factors determine the funded head count. Since managers are human, friendship, personal loyalty, and "connections" would often influence who goes or stays. There may also be job-level quotas that come into play. For example, in the most recent action Intel VPs and Fellows were laid off.

When there isn't a company-wide reduction, Intel used to have a special group called the Redeployment Pool. Personnel on cancelled programs would be reassigned to the Redeployment Pool, where their employment would continue for a period of time (I believe it was six weeks) while they investigated the openings in other groups, and perhaps other locations. I'm not sure if Intel still does this.

 

[XYang2023]

HR doesn't determine who's laid off in the vast majority of US companies, and certainly not in Intel in the recent past. The management hierarchy does. HR is simply performs the administrative operations. Senior management determines which projects are terminated or continue, the budget for each project, and these factors determine the funded head count. Since managers are human, friendship, personal loyalty, and "connections" would often influence who goes or stays. There may also be job-level quotas that come into play. For example, in the most recent action Intel VPs and Fellows were laid off.

When there isn't a company-wide reduction, Intel used to have a special group called the Redeployment Pool. Personnel on cancelled programs would be reassigned to the Redeployment Pool, where their employment would continue for a period of time (I believe it was six weeks) while they investigated the openings in other groups, and perhaps other locations. I'm not sure if Intel still does this.

In the layoffs forum, people frequently bring up the idea that Intel should trim its middle management. Do you think that’s the case? How do you think Intel should approach implementing layoffs?

 

[blueone]

In the layoffs forum, people frequently bring up the idea that Intel should trim its middle management. Do you think that’s the case?

I completely agree with that position. For the past two decades Intel has had too many directors and senior directors, too many VPs, too many fellows and senior fellows, and even too many senior principal engineers. When I joined Intel in the late 90s these positions were a lower percentage of the employee population.

How do you think Intel should approach implementing layoffs?

That's a very complicated question, and the solution has multiple dimensions. The dimensions vary by job function. And frankly, I'm not sure how to get the human ego factors out of the process (loyalty, friendship, inner circles, cliques). It is a lot easier to hire than fire, and that is the fundamental problem with employee population bloat in big companies.

 

[XYang2023]

I completely agree with that position. For the past two decades Intel has had too many directors and senior directors, too many VPs, too many fellows and senior fellows, and even too many senior principal engineers. When I joined Intel in the late 90s these positions were a lower percentage of the employee population.

That's a very complicated question, and the solution has multiple dimensions. The dimensions vary by job function. And frankly, I'm not sure how to get the human ego factors out of the process (loyalty, friendship, inner circles, cliques). It is a lot easier to hire than fire, and that is the fundamental problem with employee population bloat in big companies.

Perhaps an outsider CEO could handle this situation better.

 

[blueone]

Perhaps an outsider CEO could handle this situation better.

I doubt it. The scope of the problem is too big and deep for one person to remedy, IMO. And quick action is needed, because the company allowed headcount to balloon since the start of the decade. And I can't believe there's time to use a scalpel for these cuts. I'd set a target for a 20% cut for all jobs at grade 11 and above. I still can't believe how many people I used to work with now I see on LinkedIn they hold very senior positions, and they didn't impress me much back then. There must be some new vitamins or performance-enhancing drugs available lately I'm not aware of.